Uconn

Buffalo defensive back Adam Redden (29) forces a fumble on Connecticut quarterback Chandler Whitmer (10) during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — At the end of one quarter Saturday, Buffalo had 1 yard of offense and 14 points. It needed no more than that.

If there are levels of ineptitude, UConn found a new one before an announced crowd of 20,952 at UB Stadium. The Bulls leveled the Huskies, 41-12, sending UConn to its first 0-4 start since 1991 and placing a far more intense glare on the status of coach Paul Pasqualoni.

The Huskies put a serious scare into Michigan last week. On Saturday, the Huskies were just plain scary.

"There's too much to fix right now," said quarterback Chandler Whitmer, whose interception on the third play of the game set a brackish tone. "Too much to talk about right now. There's not much to say. That just wasn't pretty."

How could it be when the other team had the game won with 1 yard of offense?

Just because there was the rest of the game to play, Buffalo kept on playing. It turned four UConn turnovers — including a blocked field goal — into 24 points. The Bulls managed to get 329 yards of offense through the final three quarters and added plenty of points along the way. UConn rushed for a paltry 27 yards on 39 carries, Whitmer threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. Whitmer has been brought down in the back-

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field 20 times in four games.

Never in 20 prior games against UConn had the Bulls scored as many points. They broke an eight-game losing streak against the Huskies and in the process ended up scoring more points than anybody in Pasqualoni's 28-game tenure. The only worse loss in Pasqualoni's time was last year's 40-10 pounding by Syracuse.

All of which would be fine if not for the fact that Michigan had fewer yards and 17 fewer points than Buffalo. And let's face it, UConn had owned the Bulls.

"I've never been taken out of a game because my team was getting smashed," left tackle Jimmy Bennett said. "That's the the lowest point I've ever seen. It sucks. It's miserable. It's kind of embarrassing."

Buffalo needed five overtimes two weeks ago to score 26 points in a victory over Stony Brook. It had 28 points by halftime against UConn.

There was not a single point in the game when the Huskies were in control of anything. They posted a season scoring low and had just 220 yards on 64 plays. It was so out of control that Pasqualoni elected not to put in true freshman quarterback Tim Boyle, the No. 2 guy, and instead went with Casey Cochran. Cochran's first collegiate pass was promptly intercepted.

Clearly, this thing is broken with a bye week coming to try to mend it.

"We have to go back and take a good look at it," said Pasqualoni, who admitted he has never had such a frustrating time in his college coaching career. "The fact remains we have a lot of young guys. They did a good job of stepping up last week. We have to do a better job.

"I wish there was something I could have done to help them. As a coach, you always feel that way."

The lone bright spot was receiver Geremy Davis, who had five catches for 102 yards before a leg cramp in the second half forced him out of the game. Even that couldn't hide the obvious frustration, something that Whitmer was asked if he could describe.

"No," he said. "I can't."

Four games into the season, the Huskies seem to have figured out nothing. There is no run game. The veteran offensive line is playing like freshmen. The defense, so good against Michigan, is struggling, too.

It's a mess.

"We're going to have to do some soul-searching," Bennett said. "We're going to have a little soul-searching session to get this fixed. Guys who have played here have to get their (stuff) together and play."

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